The Village of Bellevue is making a change to the way it handles emergency response. Come the first of the year Bellevue Fire and Rescue will be staffed 24 hours a day.
In the Village of Bellevue this fire station isn’t staffed around the clock. But come January 1, Chief Jack Mlnarik says that’s going to change.
“We’ve identified a need to move toward a 24/7 365 model,” said Mlnarik.
Right now the station is staffed 66 hours a week, Monday through Sunday. When staff is on the clock response times are good. But when it’s after hours things drop off quickly.
“We’re between five and six minutes when we’re staffed here at the station. But when we’re not it can be upwards of 14-15 minutes, which is a substantial difference,” said the chief.
The department has 10 full-time firefighters and 33 part-time employees. And when crews are called in it takes extra time.